Migralex Blog

Homicide – suicide in pain patients

Previous research has discovered, not surprisingly, that people with chronic pain are more prone to depression and to suicide.
(continue reading…)

Acceptance and commitment therapy

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) involves skills training in a way similar to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), (continue reading…)

Even brief mindfulness meditation training reduces pain

Researchers at the University of North Carolina examined pain-relieving effects of three daily 20-minute training sessions in mindfulness meditation. The results were published in the latest issue of the Journal of Pain (continue reading…)

Chiropractic ineffective for kids with headaches

German researchers performed a very rigorous (multicenter, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, and blinded) trial of cervical spine manipulation and mobilization in 52 children and adolescents with headaches due to neck problems.
(continue reading…)

Sinus headaches, contact points, surgery

Iranian physicians published a report on “contact point” headaches in the last issue of the journal Headache. When the nasal septum is severely deviated it can result in a contact between the septum which is in the middle of the nose and the side wall of the nasal cavity. This contact point appears to cause headaches, at least in some patients.
(continue reading…)

Daily frustartion, ability to cope and headaches

Dutch researchers followed 89 adolescents, 13-21 years of age, and discovered that daily frustration of goal pursuits was related to the same day or next day headaches.  They also discovered that the extent to which adolescents believe in their ability to cope also influenced their experience of subsequent headache.  Specific coping strategies did not seem to matter, but the belief in the ability to cope reduced the chance of developing a headache. 
(continue reading…)

Science of acupuncture

Acupuncture increases connections between different areas of the brain, according to Dhond and other Korean researchers who published their findings in the journal Pain.  They compared the effect of true and sham acupuncture in healthy volunteers using functional MRI of the brain. 
(continue reading…)

Benefits of vitamin D

As I mentioned in a previous post, vitamin D deficiency is often found in patients with headaches (as well as in those with neuralgia).  Chronic pain patients with low vitamin D levels were also found to have poor exercise tolerance, making their rehabilitation more difficult.  Now, there is strong evidence from two independent studies, which involved over one thousand people, that those with low vitamin D levels were twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, other types of dementia, and strokes. 
(continue reading…)

Light makes headaches worse in blind people

Headaches in blind people are made worse by light, according to Dr. Burstein and his associates at Harvard.  Rami Burstein is one of the leading headache researchers who often asks questions no one else thinks to ask.  More importantly, he often finds the answers.  When he mentioned to me that he wants to find out if bright light will make headaches worse in someone who is blind, I immediately thought of a patient I was treating. 
(continue reading…)

Pregnancy and headaches

The fact that two out of three pregnant women stop having headaches during pregnancy is well established, however a study by Norwegian researchers published in Headache provides some additional details.  Women with headaches who are pregnant for the first time tend to have fewer headaches than non-pregnant women or women during subsequent pregnancies.  This is especially true in the third trimester.  
(continue reading…)

Previous articles »